Maribug Split

Chapter 11: Heaven and Hell

Alya walked into an almost empty bakery, only Sabine counting change at the till and Tom packing away the pastries off the shelves, humming some tune Alya did not recognize. It was almost closing time.

“Hi Tom, hi Sabine,” Alya greeted Marinette’s parents. She loved them. They were the coolest parents she’s ever met, having many fond memries of coming over for meals and sleepovers at the Dupain-Cheng household. “I’m assuming Marinette’s home. Is Adrien still here?”

“You just missed him,” Sabine said. “He left around twenty minutes ago.”

“Flew past like the wind late to some photoshoot,” added Tom. “He was very polite about it. Apologized for rushing out and thanked us for our hospitality. Like we did anything. Marinette forbade us from going upstairs. She also forbade us from getting any wild ideas and, I quote, ‘no hopes up getting’.” Tom wiggled his finger in Alya’s face, lowered his eyelids and tucked in his lips. It was a pretty good impersonation of Marinette’s ‘stern’ look.

“As long as she set the record straight,” Alya said with a laugh. “I’ll go upstairs and see how she survived her tutoring adventure.”

“Go right up,” Sabine motioned with her arm. “We have heard nothing since the cute boy left.”

“Thank you,” Alya called out as she strolled into their home, seeking Marinette. She passed the main bedroom, up to the vacant kitchen and living room where she has spent many hours of her life hanging out with Marinette. Wanting to surprise Marinette, she tiptoed up the steep stairs to Marinette’s room and nudged open the trapdoor.

Alya looked over the rim and was startled to find Marinette sitting in her chair by the computer, her eyes directed on her. She stumbled from shock and had to catch herself from tumbling back down the stairs. She gave a sheepish smile, ready to apologize for trying to sneak in when she realized something was wrong. Marinette’s facial expression has not altered. She was still staring at her, but she never reacted to her in the slightest.

Alya climbed the rest of the way into the room, closing the door behind her. Even though she was now standing in the room, Marinette was still looking at the trapdoor. Alya walked over to stand by the desk and study Marinette. She waved her hands in front of her eyes and poked at her cheeks. Getting no reaction, she sat in the other chair, elbow on the desk, resting her head in her palm.

“So,” she said after a minute. “It went that well?”

“I distracted him,” Marinette whispered.

“Seems you are the one who’s distracted. Care to explain?”

“He was distracted talking to me and lost track of the time. I made him late for a photoshoot because I distracted him. He forgot about his very important, incredibly amazing life, because he was talking to me.”

“I see.”

“Alya?”

“Yes?”

“Am I dead?”

“I don’t believe you are. Why?”

“Because this must be heaven.”

“Oh, No. Not at all. Just wait until he kisses you. Then your soul will jump out of you and head straight to heaven.”

All this time Marinette continued to stare at the trapdoor, her expression not changing, only her lips moving. Even now, nothing changed, except for her cheeks glowing bright red.

“Are you planning on staring at the door forever?”

“I can still see the smile he gave me as he was leaving. I do not want to forget it.”

“Were you like this?” Alya cried. “Staring at him the whole time he was here?”

“No. I couldn’t even look at him, except when I couldn’t look away. I concentrated in the book so I would not get distracted from learning. Then he started talking about aliens and chimps, so I brought up a hamster and a hippo. I’m sure there was a squirrel, but I don’t remember who brought it. Then his father ruined his career as a teacher so he had to remain a model and a businessman although he knows nothing about business. I will miss not seeing his beautiful photos and I won’t have what to put on my wall, but I know he will be happy helping kids with their education.”

Alya stared, fascinated that even though Marinette’s arms were everywhere while she talked and even her facial expressions were taking part in her very detailed if nonsensical speech, she still kept her eyes glued to the door.

“I have an idea.” Alya put her hand on Marinette's shoulder. “From the tiny bits I followed, I understand that you actually had a conversion with Adrien. That is nothing short of a miracle. How about you face me instead of the door so we can talk about our costumes for Alix’s party? Then we can plan how we get Adrien to give you many more smiles, in person. They are even better than the memory etched into the back of your skull.”

Marinette pouted, eyes still on the trapdoor.

“You promise?”

“I do.” Alya tried hard not to giggle. “I bought the costumes for the party, but you have to work your magic over them. I know your size, so I got the closest thing they had. You still need to adjust them to make them perfect.”

“Okay,” Marinette responded, though she did not looked away from the door yet.

“Remember,” Alya prompted. “You promised me you will wear what I got without complaining.”

“I said I would wear it, I never said I won’t complain about it.”

“Fine,” Alya sighed. “I’ll take what I can. It’ll be so worth it. You’ll look stunning. Adrien will not know what hit him.”

She pulled out the costume from her bag and held it up.

“The door is not going anywhere. Look over here and see what I got you.”

Marinette dragged her eyes away from the door to examine what Alya held.

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Tom and Sabine completed locking up the bakery. It has been a good day. They were both looking forward to opening the new branch, even with all the anxiety involved. They had to take out a loan to cover the hefty investment, confident the benefit is worth the risk. Some of their products were already being sold in a few convenience stores on the other side of town. Opening a branch will increase the sales and allow them to sell fresh pastries for a more satisfied customer. All that with a higher profit margin. It made sense.

There were still many things to plan. Marinette has been a great help. They would raise potential issues and she always had great ideas, many of which they were planning on implementing. They were very proud of their daughter.

The bakers walked through the door into their house, heading up to the kitchen to start with supper. They were only a few steps up towards the first floor when the house vibrated from the thunderous voice.

“Alya! No way in hell!”